I’m Frud Bezhan, regional desk editor for Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Here’s what I’ve been following and what I’m watching out for in the days ahead. ( RFE/RL) – Fewer Iranians have protested on the streets in recent days, more than three months after the nationwide antiestablishment demonstrations erupted. From the outset, the authorities responded […]
Taliban Imposes New Dress Code, Segregation Of Women At Afghan Universities
By Frud Bezhan | – ( RFE/RL/Radio Azadi) – KABUL — The Taliban has imposed a new dress code and gender segregation for women at private universities and colleges in Afghanistan, in line with a decree issued to educational institutions and obtained by RFE/RL. All female students, teachers, and staff must wear an Islamic abaya […]
Pakistan’s ‘Brotherly’ Ties With Saudi Arabia Hit ‘Rock Bottom’
By Frud Bezhan | – ( RFE/RL) – But the long-standing economic, political, and military ties between the South Asian state and the oil-rich Middle East kingdom have been based less on common values and more on transactions, experts say. Riyadh has provided huge financial support in the form of cheap oil and loans to […]
Oil-Tanker Attacks Potentially A ‘Dangerous Escalation’ in US-Iran Confrontation, Expert Says
(RFE/RL) – Attacks on two commercial oil tankers in the Gulf Of Oman have escalated tensions in the Middle East and raised the prospect of a military confrontation between Iran and the United States. Washington and its allies in the region have blamed Tehran for the blasts on board the Norwegian-owned Front Altair and Japanese-owned […]
“Ghost Tankers:” Can Iran Evade Trump’s Severe Sanctions on its Oil Sales?
Iran has previously had barter deals with China and India
Things are So Bad in Iran that Afghan Migrants are Going Home
Kabul (RFE/RL) – More than 400,000 undocumented Afghan migrants left Iran for Afghanistan so far in 2018, many of them in buses from Herat, near the Iranian border, to Kabul. Mohammad moved back to his native Kabul after living more than 10 years in Iran, where he washed cars and worked in construction to earn […]